Denicio Posted December 3, 2019 Share Posted December 3, 2019 So, i just saw the new video of the new Amico controllers. Any of you old school players, like myself, that grew up with the Gen 1 systems concerned about the side buttons being seperated? My gut reaction is to panic a little bit. Yeah some of its an old dog and new tricks but aren't there several games that benefit by having the buttons next to each other? I cant think of them till i am actually playing them but i seem to recall some games benefitting from the closeness of the side buttons. I do realize that when its in my hand it make make TOTAL sense. But at first glance....the 11 year old kid in me is wincing..... Is it just me? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bamse Posted December 3, 2019 Share Posted December 3, 2019 They need to design the controllers for a wide variety of games and not just the legacy stuff. The old games whilst obviously appealing to us will most likely not be of much interest to newcomers to Amico and also, any reimagined intellivision games will be designed for these specific controllers. I think the new design is an excellent move. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IntyFanMatt Posted December 3, 2019 Share Posted December 3, 2019 41 minutes ago, Denicio said: So, i just saw the new video of the new Amico controllers. Any of you old school players, like myself, that grew up with the Gen 1 systems concerned about the side buttons being seperated? My gut reaction is to panic a little bit. Yeah some of its an old dog and new tricks but aren't there several games that benefit by having the buttons next to each other? I cant think of them till i am actually playing them but i seem to recall some games benefitting from the closeness of the side buttons. I do realize that when its in my hand it make make TOTAL sense. But at first glance....the 11 year old kid in me is wincing..... Is it just me? It's my understanding that several games will be able to be played with the controllers sideways, so the buttons needed to be positioned apart for your pointer fingers to easily press, along with your thumbs on the bottom buttons. If they were in the middle and close together, like the old controllers, then you'd be reaching too far to press them, making the controllers too difficult to deal with ergonomically. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denicio Posted December 3, 2019 Author Share Posted December 3, 2019 3 minutes ago, Bamse said: They need to design the controllers for a wide variety of games and not just the legacy stuff. The old games whilst obviously appealing to us will most likely not be of much interest to newcomers to Amico and also, any reimagined intellivision games will be designed for these specific controllers. I think the new design is an excellent move. Makes sense. I suppose i was thinking about it JUST with my old eyes and heart. They are looking forward not backward. I'll adapt~ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bamse Posted December 3, 2019 Share Posted December 3, 2019 Yeah, i get that, me too. To be honest though, I wouldn't be surprised if the vast majority of games are developed to be used with the controller with what we would consider, on its side. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denicio Posted December 3, 2019 Author Share Posted December 3, 2019 3 minutes ago, Bamse said: Yeah, i get that, me too. To be honest though, I wouldn't be surprised if the vast majority of games are developed to be used with the controller with what we would consider, on its side. That will take some major adapting. I'm 50. I grew up holding the controller one way. I get to go full 'Old Man' now......."You darned kids and your sideways holdin' intellivision games....why...back in my day there was only ONE way to hold it...now...get off my lawn!!!" 2 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bamse Posted December 3, 2019 Share Posted December 3, 2019 3 minutes ago, Denicio said: That will take some major adapting. I'm 50. I grew up holding the controller one way. I get to go full 'Old Man' now......."You darned kids and your sideways holdin' intellivision games....why...back in my day there was only ONE way to hold it...now...get off my lawn!!!" Hahaha, I'm with you. its funny, I've played intellivision games in emulation with a snes controller and it doesn't feel right. Muscle memory I suppose. I would imagine games like Earth Worm Jim would be designed to be played with the controller sideways and I think I'd be fine with that. I do wonder if the user would have the option to chose though. I know the screen will have automatic reorientation but I wonder if the disc will? So up is up for instance no matter if you hold it in landscape or portrait Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denicio Posted December 3, 2019 Author Share Posted December 3, 2019 2 minutes ago, Bamse said: Hahaha, I'm with you. its funny, I've played intellivision games in emulation with a snes controller and it doesn't feel right. Muscle memory I suppose. I would imagine games like Earth Worm Jim would be designed to be played with the controller sideways and I think I'd be fine with that. I do wonder if the user would have the option to chose though. I know the screen will have automatic reorientation but I wonder if the disc will? So up is up for instance no matter if you hold it in landscape or portrait This system gets released in October of 2020. I say by Feb of 2021 there will be a couple guys on the forums HERE with "Old School" mods for the new controllers! Think i am kidding? The inty i LOVE to play now ...... is a Flashback modded by someone here from a RasPi mini computer. Nerds here in this forum are Saints among nerds! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr_me Posted December 3, 2019 Share Posted December 3, 2019 (edited) It's only a concern if you want to play old Intellivision games that made use of both side buttons. The controller design can be optimised for vertical orientation or horizontal orientation but not both. In the end horizontal orientation won. The thing is that the new design is still not that great for horizontal orientation. You should be working the two buttons with one hand and the dpad with other but you can't with the new design. Even the guys say that when they play two button Amico games they prefer to use the touch pad as buttons. I'm disappointed they changed it. No doubt the disc will change orientation with the touchscreen. It's easy to do in software. Edited December 3, 2019 by mr_me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denicio Posted December 3, 2019 Author Share Posted December 3, 2019 2 minutes ago, mr_me said: It's only a concern if you want to play old Intellivision games that made use of both side buttons. The controller design can be optimised for vertical orientation or horizontal orientation but not both. In the end horizontal orientation won. The thing is that the new design is still not that great for horizontal orientation. You should be working the two buttons with one hand and the dpad with other but you can't with the new design. Even the guys say that when they play two button Amico games they prefer to use the touch pad as buttons. I'm disappointed they changed it. Yeah, i admit its got me bummed. I dont think i am at the Paxton "Game over man, game over" opinion of this, yet. But i just wished they have maybe 3 buttons on the side and WE could choose which TWO worked (with a setting). The fact they are on the 4 extreme sides of the controller gives me....pause~ Its spoiled some of the excitement for me for sure. I hope i am simply over reacting. I will personally be one of those playing 85% of my time in old school mode. Even with some of the new versions looking totally bad arse! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Battlefish Posted December 4, 2019 Share Posted December 4, 2019 4 hours ago, Denicio said: Yeah, i admit its got me bummed. I dont think i am at the Paxton "Game over man, game over" opinion of this, yet. But i just wished they have maybe 3 buttons on the side and WE could choose which TWO worked (with a setting). The fact they are on the 4 extreme sides of the controller gives me....pause~ I get it, two sets of buttons that do the same thing might confuse people, but it would go a long way to making vertical use more comfortable. Better than using "The Claw", anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MantaNZ Posted December 4, 2019 Share Posted December 4, 2019 7 hours ago, Denicio said: This system gets released in October of 2020. I say by Feb of 2021 there will be a couple guys on the forums HERE with "Old School" mods for the new controllers! Think i am kidding? The inty i LOVE to play now ...... is a Flashback modded by someone here from a RasPi mini computer. Nerds here in this forum are Saints among nerds! Is the Flashback worth getting non modified? I do have Intellivision Lives, but yeh - PS2 controllers. I've never played Intellivision - I was a Fountain Force 2 kid. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr_me Posted December 4, 2019 Share Posted December 4, 2019 (edited) You can play the flashback as is if you want. The emulation is okay, they modified the buzz/error sound. I think one game, Tower of Doom, doesn't work properly. It's not a complete collection of Intellivision games. You can take the flashback controller and plug them in to your computer through a usb adapter. Then you can play all the original intellivision games with the best emulators available. That's what a modified flashback is. With proper button mapping per game you can easily play all intellivision games with a playstation style controller. Some games like night stalker and deadly discs can control better. One advantage intellivision and amico controllers have is they can be used right handed or left handed. And the disc is more comfortable than a thumb stick. An experienced intellivision player hoping to use Amico controllers might miss the tactile feel of the bubbled keypad as well as the side button location. The intellivision collection on Amico might be incomplete as well. Edited December 4, 2019 by mr_me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denicio Posted December 4, 2019 Author Share Posted December 4, 2019 9 hours ago, MantaNZ said: Is the Flashback worth getting non modified? I do have Intellivision Lives, but yeh - PS2 controllers. I've never played Intellivision - I was a Fountain Force 2 kid. I ONLY got the Flashback as a way to get the Raspberry Pi upgrade. Everyone here was saying how the flashback folks pretty much NAILED the controller. i have to agree. I am NOT playing the flashback but a gutted flashback console with its controllers......and it was retrofitted with the RasPi loaded with Intellivision. You get HDMI and ALL the games. For me its a win win. Looks and feels like my old Intelly console from 1981. But the Flashback...as is.....thats a hard pass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IMBerzerk Posted December 4, 2019 Share Posted December 4, 2019 (edited) 8 minutes ago, Denicio said: I ONLY got the Flashback as a way to get the Raspberry Pi upgrade. Everyone here was saying how the flashback folks pretty much NAILED the controller. i have to agree. I am NOT playing the flashback but a gutted flashback console with its controllers......and it was retrofitted with the RasPi loaded with Intellivision. You get HDMI and ALL the games. For me its a win win. Looks and feels like my old Intelly console from 1981. But the Flashback...as is.....thats a hard pass. I agree with you on that. I bought it, hooked it up, got pissed off and put it back in the box. I did what you did, but I used a like-new Sears unit and I'm happy I did. Just the fact that I have it on HDMI, big screen, razor sharp graphics and with a ton of other systems I can choose from is worth it. Plus it will last forever. I do have a kitty of original units, one of each style from the 2609 era... But they're all preserved now. For family generations I haven't met yet. ? And as far as the new controller layout... I'm with you. Not thrilled about the changes... But I understand why, and I said it to myself as soon as I saw the video. Other than that, the Amico looks amazing so far. Loving the new version of Skiing! Edited December 4, 2019 by IMBerzerk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MantaNZ Posted December 5, 2019 Share Posted December 5, 2019 Cool, I have Pis up the wazoo so I'll have to build one one day. I have a Mega Pi, a Super Pi, a GPi and a Pi in an Arcade1up cabinet, haha. Amazing little things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fsuinnc Posted December 5, 2019 Share Posted December 5, 2019 regular controller I use my middle and pointer finger on one side and my thumb on the other side for the buttons. this is This allows me to hold the controller and use my other thumb on the disk. I have doubts about using my pointer and pinky on one side of the new controller while my thumb and and imaginary new appendage press the buttons on the other side. I get that this is new and moving forward, not just trying to play 40 year old games, (and I'm pretty sure I'll buy one regardless) but I am concerned I will not like the buttons. Back in the day, people were always hating on the intellivision controllers. I always thought they were simply fantastic. Not ideal for breakout or pong perhaps, but football, baseball, AD&D Cloudy mountain, NASL Soccer!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denicio Posted December 6, 2019 Author Share Posted December 6, 2019 15 hours ago, fsuinnc said: regular controller I use my middle and pointer finger on one side and my thumb on the other side for the buttons. this is This allows me to hold the controller and use my other thumb on the disk. I have doubts about using my pointer and pinky on one side of the new controller while my thumb and and imaginary new appendage press the buttons on the other side. I get that this is new and moving forward, not just trying to play 40 year old games, (and I'm pretty sure I'll buy one regardless) but I am concerned I will not like the buttons. Back in the day, people were always hating on the intellivision controllers. I always thought they were simply fantastic. Not ideal for breakout or pong perhaps, but football, baseball, AD&D Cloudy mountain, NASL Soccer!! To quote The Big Lebowski....."This is our concern, Dude." Yeah, i am an old fooker and only gonna buy the amigo to mainly play the CLASSIC games with wireless controllers on my 4K 70" TV. While i do think i will enjoy some of the new recreations....i am simply a nostalgic old fart and the new controllers vex me so.... The new games are not really important to me. SO, this change in the controller design is a problem for me. While not a deal breaker....i am simply ready for someone around here to start working on a Mod to recreate the old button layout ? I too hold the controller the way you do and play it with the fingers you do. I bet a TON of us do it this way as well. LIKE YOU....growing up with this system....i LOVED the controller. Compared to the radically STIFF 2600 joystick with one button...the Intelly controller seemed James Bond sophisticated. HECK....i would not mind if Tommy & Crew created Niche' controllers that they sold as accessories. I'd pay for it with little complaint. They could even add a button on the back that when hit it yells "Hey kids, get off my lawn" and he could sell this as the "Classic Old Guy Controller" 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RetroAl Posted December 6, 2019 Share Posted December 6, 2019 I'd be great if there was a legacy controller available in the future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denicio Posted December 6, 2019 Author Share Posted December 6, 2019 2 minutes ago, RetroAl said: I'd be great if there was a legacy controller available in the future. Hopefully Tommy T will hear the cries of we mere Intelly mortals.....and oblige~ In Tommy's name i pray....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr_me Posted December 6, 2019 Share Posted December 6, 2019 The Amico has USB ports. If they support usb game controllers you could connect intellivision or intellivision flashback controllers. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denicio Posted December 6, 2019 Author Share Posted December 6, 2019 Just now, mr_me said: The Amico has USB ports. If they support usb game controllers you could connect intellivision or intellivision flashback controllers. But the charm of Amico are the wireless controllers........ I know, i want it all...and i want it my way! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr_me Posted December 8, 2019 Share Posted December 8, 2019 And if you're going to use intellivision or intellivision flashback controllers, you don't really need an amico. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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